Man arrested in 28-year-old cold-case murder of Texas teenager found dead along a road

A man has been arrested on one count of murder in the 28-year-old homicide of Emily Jeanette Garcia, who was raped and left murdered along a Texas road.

Thomas Ray Galindo, 50, was arrested on Sept. 10 at his home in Brazoria, Texas by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was transferred to Comal County, where the crime occurred.

Galindo is accused of killing 15-year-old Garcia in Feb. 1993. At the time, Galindo was 21 years old, and he and Garcia were acquaintances, police say.

Garcia was living away from her mother and sister at the time and staying with friends in the northeastern part of San Antonio.

She was known to hang out with friends in that area of the city and frequent pool halls, cops say. Garcia was last seen alive a few days before her death.

On Feb. 25, 1993, Garcia’s nude body was found near Cranes Mill Road and Canyon Lake in Comal County. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted, according to police.

Garcia’s body was identified in 1994 after a family member saw a local news report and contacted law enforcement.

Despite a lengthy investigation by the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, progress stalled and the case went cold, according to authorities.

In 2017, the sheriff’s office renewed its investigation, and in early 2021, at the request of the sheriff’s office, the Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program began reviewing the case.

The initial investigation included interviews with several people acquainted with Garcia, including Galindo.

The Rangers and sheriff’s detectives working on the investigation reevaluated the entire case and re-interviewed numerous people, revealing new information which ultimately led to Galindo’s arrest. But, police have declined to elaborate on the specific evidence that led to the arrest.

Galindo is being held in the Comal County Jail on $100,000 bond.